German former executive arrested for exports to Russian arms maker

The former head of a German precision tools manufacturer has been arrested on suspicion of providing banned dual-use goods to the Russian weapons industry.
Germany’s prosecutor general said in a statement, the man, named only as Ulli S, is suspected of signing three contracts with a Russian arms manufacturer in 2015 to deliver six machine tools that were used by the Russian company in the production of sniper rifles.
The statement added, Ulli S thereby circumvented sanctions imposed in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine that prohibit the export of dual-use goods to Russia.
It said, the machine tools were delivered with the help of third-party companies via Switzerland, and in one case via Lithuania. The order volume of the sale of the machines was around 2 million euros ($2.17 million).
The prosecutor general’s statement said, the company was also involved in training employees of the Russian arms manufacturer to use the tools in 2016.